So how would SL be the next internet??

In the future ...

As the internet advances ...

More and more people will buy things from all over the world and have them shipped to their homes ...

Eventually companies will recognize patterns in what people buy, realize trends of whats being shipped where ...

They will come up with a revolutionary idea!

They will estimate demand and *PRE-SHIP* all this stuff and house it in a central location near where people live.

The people wont have to go online but instead go to this place and can buy the stuff right then and there.

They will call it ..

A STORE!

Let's try Amazon instead... walk around the aisles looking for a book but you can't find it, but oh wait, there's one of those helpful little service bots.

"Hello there!"
"I'm looking for 'The Joys of the 3D Web'"
"We have a special offer today on comic books. Would you like to hear more?"
"No, thanks. I'm looking for ..."

(another avie walks up)
"Hai! How u r? U very pretty"
"Thanls, but I'm trying to order a book"
"Ok... book good... we make sex now?"
"Err... no thanks"
(avie orbits you, you crash)

You go back to the Amazon sim, your attachments are up your behind, everything's gray and you move at a snails pace cause the sim is lagged but you're determined to find your book. You eventually find a sales person avie.

"Hi... I think you need a rebake, you're all 'missing image'"
*sighs* "Yes... ok... I'm looking for 'The Joys of the 3D Web'. Do you know where I can find it?"

Sales person opens their in-world 2D browser to look up the name of the book and directs you to the proper aisle where you eventually find a copy of the book after a few extra minutes of searching.

---

How exactly is that better than the current website model of simply typing in the name of a book and clicking "Add to cart"?

If I could have gone to the Amazon store in SL, explained to someone with knowledge what I'm looking for, got recommendations from the large list of books that came up on the website, it would have been so much better, and quicker, for me.

Your waiting for the day you can TP your actual physical self into SL?

Well, most of it wouldn't happen, of course

If I could have gone to the Amazon store in SL, explained to someone with knowledge what I'm looking for, got recommendations from the large list of books that came up on the website, it would have been so much better, and quicker, for me.

Your waiting for the day you can TP your actual physical self into SL?

More likely, it will happen the other way around. The virtual 3D world we envision will slowly leak into our own reality. It's called augmented reality. It's already begun with cell phones, GPS devices, holographic memory, portable digital video, and other portable or wearable devices that travel through the real world with us.

On a side note, I believe IBM is testing out real world quantum teleportation:

http://www.research.ibm.com/quantuminfo/teleportation/

It's a far cry from "Beam me up Scotty!", but it is essetially the same concept.

The live person available to help is something that would not actually happen, staff is too expensive.

umm
Not waiting for anything enjoying my rl.
Thinking and using my imagination on how this environment will progress.
Did I mention waiting to TP myself nope.

Brenda,
Good to see I am not the only one getting too old for this shit


It might pretty well be that within 10 years we are all steering our little avatar around a virtual store, but I doubt it. I can see added value in pictures, video, and even 3d presentations (like many mobile phone websites already implement). But I cannot see the added value of the shoppingcart Brenda is pushing around.
When I look at 2 websites I am a regular visitor on, what would the added value be:
- Bol.com: I already see the book/record covers, and the content. what good would a prim-like presentation do?
- iTunes.com: Imagine seeing an avarar singing the song I want to buy or so?

On the other hand there are some valuable applications to be thought of:
- Book a seat in a stadium, by walking through it and choose a free spot
- Same for cinema seats

Don't get me wrong, of course it can be done and it has its benefits. But I just don't see it as a replacement for the WWW as we have now, simply because it adds no value for most websites.
The fact IBM invests in it doesn't mean it is going to get very popular to the mainstream public. Who uses Lotus Notes at home or has a Websphere portal server on his system-i at home? But it does mean it is going to have value at some places of the market, and it will.

In my opinion some kind of grid will integrate into the WWW, so that certain parts of the web will be 3D. Sites like google, or wikipedia, will stay 2D though. Simply because they absolutely add no value by going 3D. The search in SL is 2D as well by the way

Greetings Marcel

http://www.emotiv.com/

* * *

I'm hoping LL will continue to be part of that future, as much as
they are already a big part of future history of 'cyberspace'.



-i

If you have a social interactive 3D environment where customers can interact in real-time, you will get griefed sooner or later.

If all you're describing is a 3D website instead of a 3D world, then there's no need to wait for the future, that's already possible.

The live person available to help is something that would not actually happen, staff is too expensive.

Yes but there you go Phil, how many times you go into a store and can explain to someone with knowledge what you want? Most stores do not have anyone with deeper knowledge of their products, so how would you get people who DO know, in your SL-alike environment? A real good search engine can beat most employees anyway in a store as big as Amazon.

And even then, would you need a 3d environment for your question, or would a simple live-chat do just as well? That is why I keep on hammering on Added Value. If it has no added value, it will never reach the big crowds.

That headset is the biggest pile of crap ever. I saw a guy demo it and he nearly had a brain hemorhage trying to make something move.

"watch me move this rock with the power of my mind".

He stands there slowly raising his arms up with a strain on his face that makes him look like he's having a huge crap in his pants.


I just wanted to throw a wireless mouse at the fool and tell him to move it with the power of his wrist instead.

Oh Good one! LOL.

That's why I don't use an Ignore button. you just never know where the next good one will come from.

If you have a social interactive 3D environment where customers can interact in real-time, you will get griefed sooner or later.

If all you're describing is a 3D website instead of a 3D world, then there's no need to wait for the future, that's already possible.

The live person available to help is something that would not actually happen, staff is too expensive.

sorry, my reply wasn't meant to be taken seriously.

When the helper was very clear about what I wanted, all they could have done is recommend a short list of books - in chat words. Then I would have had to search the site for each book to read about it. In a 3-D environment, the helper could have displayed information about each book, and I would have been able to examine it all.

The web has been developed for quite a long time now. Suppose the Aamazon site had live help, and specialzed live help at that. What would have happened. First off, I'd need to type, and my desires may not have got across as well through typing than they would have through speaking, so the act of having to type would have slowed things down. When the helper was very clear about what I wanted, all they could have done is recommend a short list of books - in chat words. Then I would have had to search the site for each book to read about it. In a 3-D environment, the helper could have displayed information about each book, and I would have been able to examine it all.

The time was right for mail order merchandise. Fueled by the Homestead Act of 1862, America’s westward expansion followed the growth of the railroads. The postal system aided the mail order business by permitting the classification of mail order publications as aids in the dissemination of knowledge entitling these catalogs the postage rate of one cent per pound. The advent of Rural Free Delivery in 1896 also made distribution of the catalog economical.

All this set the stage for the Sears, Roebuck and Co. catalog. A master at slogans and catchy phrases, Richard Sears illustrated the cover of his 1894 catalog declaring it the "Book of Bargains: A Money Saver for Everyone," and the "Cheapest Supply House on Earth," claiming that "Our trade reaches around the World." Sears also knew the importance of keeping customers, boldly stating that "We Can’t Afford to Lose a Customer." He proudly included testimonials from satisfied customers and made every effort to assure the reader that Sears had the lowest prices and best values. This catalog expanded from watches and jewelry, offering merchandise such as sewing machines, sporting goods, musical instruments, saddles, firearms, buggies, bicycles, baby carriages, and men’s and children’s clothing. The 1895 catalog added eyeglasses, including a self-test for "old sight, near sight and astigmatism." At this time Sears wrote nearly every line appearing in the catalogs drawing upon his personal experience using language and expressions that appealed to his target customers.

In 1896 Richard Sears added a spring and fall catalog and enlarged the size. He also extended an open invitation for all customers to visit the company’s Chicago headquarters. For the first time the company charged for the catalog. Sears tried to mitigate the 25-cent fee by promising to apply the fee to any orders over 10 dollars. Specialty catalogs now appeared covering such items as bicycles, books, clothing, groceries, pianos and organs, and sewing machines. Sears sold the earliest entertainment centers in the form of magic lanterns. These were either a single slide type, or a version called the chromatrope, which showed a succession of slides giving the viewers a motion picture feel.

Sears added a color section in 1897, advertising shoes in black, red and brown. New products included cloth bound books as cheap alternatives to hardbound books, and the Edison Graphophone Talking Machine. Incorporating a new trend, Sears added a "club order program" encouraging customers to combine their orders with friends or neighbors to share in discounts. A Builders Hardware and Material Section appeared; selling everything a customer needed to construct a building. Noting that all men are not equal in size and shape, Sears targeted the extra stout and extra large customer with men’s laundered shirts specifically made for them.

In 1898, he added more specialty catalogs including ones for photographic goods, talking machines, and mixed paints. In the general catalog a color section showed different buggies in red, green, brown, and black with gold or silver trim. He placed the Graphophone in an office setting, and the optigraph moving picture machine appeared. Reflecting current events, the lantern slide collection included shows on the Klondike gold fields, the destruction of the Maine and the Cuban war.

The 1899 catalog featured color images of carpets, furniture, and china. In the photographic supplies section Sears offered "Special Lecture Outfits" giving the purchaser projection equipment, a screen, advertising posters, admission tickets, and a printing outfit, everything an entrepreneur needed to set up a theater for paying customers. The optigraph moving picture equipment worked with either electricity or a system using a gas process to provide illumination. Limes were one of the ingredients used in these gas systems helping coin the phrase "in the lime light."

The 1903 catalog included the commitment "Your money back if you are not satisfied," and Richard Sears added a handwritten note to his customers. Always looking to cater to customer needs, Sears employed translators who could "read and write all languages." He featured new items such as barber chairs, disc graphophones, and basketballs and goals (hoops). The next year he sold the Eveready searchlight and the babygate, and the company announced the opening of the Sears camera factory. The wig department added wigs for African-American men and women. To encourage repeat customers, Sears initiated a program called "customer profit sharing" giving the customer a one-dollar certificate for every dollar spent. By accumulating these certificates the customer could redeem them for specific items.

To get a hands on feel, the 1905 catalog featured full color and texture wallpaper samples, and a swatch of material used in men’s suits. Following this trend, the next year he added paint samples, and in 1908, the last year Richard Sears was associated with the company, he offered both wallpaper and paint color sample books to customers.

I don't even see it much of an improvement over 2D Internet shopping. I shop online sometimes for the convenience, but I mostly use it to see what store has what, then I go to the store and get it. I still like to actually see and feel the item a lot of times when buying. But if that isn't the case, picking it off a 2d web page works fine. I honestly can't see myelf pushing a virtual shopping cart, with the one wheel that just keeps spinning, dodging people who are talking into headsets and not paying attention, stopping in the middle of the aisle to where you can't get around...............

Anyway, I'm sure we are headed for a future where you will be able to log into a computer and do practically anything without leaving the house, and meeting a live person. I hope that happens after I'm long gone, to be trthful.